HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Robert Godier Bottom, , better known as Bob Bottom, is a retired Australian investigative journalist and author.


Career

In the words of Malcolm Brown in ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'', Bottom made "heroic, ground breaking efforts to expose organised crime" and "did more than any other single individual to bring crime and corruption to public attention in NSW in the 1970s and 1980s". At times, he and his family were afforded 24-hour police protection. Because of the scale of information confided to him as a trusted contact for crime intelligence operatives, Bottom has been hired to advise insight teams of ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territo ...
'' and the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' and has been a known source for countless exposes by other investigative journalists, often making him a target for threats, smears and vilification. One of his most famous exposes, the release in 1984 through ''The Age'' newspaper of material on identities and rackets from telephone taps illegally carried out by undercover police in New South Wales, provoked state and national inquiries and ultimately prompted governments to allow law enforcement agencies to legally use telephone interception in organised crime cases. Over the years, he has participated in 18 Royal Commission and other judicial and parliamentary inquiries and has played a key role in the establishment of state and national institutions to combat organised crime and corruption. He sparked his first inquiry into the New South Wales police force with an exposé in ''
The Bulletin Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...
'' magazine in 1963 with an article titled Behind the Barrier. Writing later for the ''
Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph'', also published by the Telegraph ...
'', he was credited with helping force Australia's first Royal Commission into organised crime – the
Moffitt Royal Commission The Royal Commission of Inquiry in respect of certain matters relating to allegations of organised crime in clubs also known as the Moffitt Royal Commission (1973–74) was one of the first Australian Royal commissions to specifically inves ...
in NSW in 1973 which resulted in police setting up crime intelligence units throughout Australia. A report he wrote for the NSW Government in 1978, titled ''Report Upon Organised Crime In NSW'', first recommended a separate crime commission concept for Australia. At that time, he had been working as a government adviser. He was consulted by then Prime Minister
Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...
before announcing a National Crimes Commission in late 1982 and was a delegate to a National Crime Summit in July 1983 when the new government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke opted to transform the Fraser model into the
National Crime Authority The National Crime Authority (NCA) was an Australian law enforcement agency established in 1984 and wound up on 31 December 2002. History The NCA was set up in 1984 in the wake of the Costigan Commission, which investigated tax evasion and or ...
. In 1986, his concept was finally adopted in NSW for the establishment of a Drug Crime Commission targeting drug trafficking and was then engaged as an adviser when it was subsequently reformed into the NSW Crime Commission to target all forms of organised crime. In 1988, he was also appointed to a steering committee for the establishment of NSW's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). In 1989, he was again engaged to advise on pioneering legislation in NSW for confiscation of assets from criminals involved in organised crime. In 1997, he prepared a report which resulted in the establishment of a Queensland Crime Commission – since merged with the Criminal Justice Commission to form the
Crime and Misconduct Commission The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) is an independent Queensland Government entity created to combat and reduce the incidence of major crime and to continuously improve the integrity of, and to reduce the incidence of misconduct in, the Q ...
. In 2002 he was involved with the reformation of the National Crime Authority into the
Australian Crime Commission The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) is a law enforcement agency established by the Australian federal government on 1 July 2016, following the merger of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and CrimTrac. It has specialist ...
. During 2004, he was a participant in a Victoria Police Organised Crime Strategy Group which devised a five-year plan to confront Melbourne's underworld following a gangland war in which 28 people were murdered. Now in retirement, while writing the occasional special article, he has been a regular witness before parliamentary committee hearings reviewing law enforcement efforts to combat organised crime. His latest book, ''Fighting Organised Crime, Triumph and betrayal in a lifelong campaign'', was published in 2009.


Honours

For his "service to the community and to journalism through the investigation and reporting of organised crime in Australia" Bottom was awarded the
Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...
(OAM) in the
1997 Australia Day Honours The 1997 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1997 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir William Deane. The Austra ...
. He has also been made an honorary professor of journalism by Queensland's
Jschool Jschool is an independent journalism college based in Brisbane, Australia. The college, founded in 2001, admitted its first students in 2002. Jschool is directed and was founded by journalist and educator John Henningham. Diploma of Journalism J ...
for his "outstanding contribution to journalism". He is a recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Crime Writers Association of Australia.


Bibliography


Author

*''Behind the Barrier''. Gladesville, N.S.W.:
Gareth Powell Gareth Powell (26 May 1934 – 16 September 2016) was a British-born Australian publisher, journalist, author, and editor. During the 1960s, Powell was managing director of two London publishing houses, Mayflower Books and then the New English ...
Associates, 1969. *''The Godfather in Australia: Organised Crime's Australian Connections''. Terrey Hills, N.S.W.: A. H. & A. W. Reed, 1979. *''Without Fear or Favour''. South Melbourne: Sun Books, 1984. *''Connections: Crime Rackets and Networks of Influence Down-Under''. South Melbourne : Sun Books, 1985. *''Connections II: Crime Rackets and Networks of Influence in Australia''. South Melbourne : Sun Books, 1987. *''Shadow of Shame: How the Mafia Got Away with the Murder of Donald Mackay''. South Melbourne : Sun Books, 1988. *''Bugged! : Legal Police Telephone Taps Expose the Mr Bigs of Australia's Drug Trade''. South Melbourne : Sun, 1989. *''Fighting Organised Crime: Triumph and Betrayal in a Lifelong Campaign''. Nelson Bay, N.S.W.: BBP, 2009.


Co-authored

*''Inside Victoria: A Chronicle of Scandal'' – with John Silvester, Tom Noble and Paul Daley. Chippendale, N.S.W. : Pan Macmillan, 1991.


Edited

*''Big Shots: A Who's Who in Australian Crime'' by David Wilson and Lindsay Murdoch. South Melbourne: Sun Books, 1985. *''Big Shots II'' by David Wilson and Paul Robinson. South Melbourne: Sun Books, 1987.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bottom, Bob Australian investigative journalists Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Living people 20th-century Australian journalists